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KRYPTICY "The Non-Return" CD (Memento Mori 2024)
The ravaging 2nd full-length by this Spanish band. Krypticy was founded by main composer Alex Guerrero (vocals/guitar) in Malaga, Spain, back in 2013. The band's debut EP, "Necronomicon", captured their fondness for old school Death Metal, most specially of the Floridian kind (Morbid Angel, Obituary, Death, Cancer). By the time they released their debut full-length, "Hideous Being", a few years later, the band was already exhibiting a larger range of influences (Suffocation, Malevolent Creation, Deicide, Decapitated) and had begun to play live, sharing the stage with bands such as Lapidated, Avulsed, Wormed, Aposento and Necrophiliac, among others. With the band solidifying their lineup by the end of 2022 -Guerrero alongside Pancho Vazquez (drums), Thomas Schenk (bass/backing vocals) and Sergio Alvarez (guitar)- Krypticy now deliver their sophomore full-length, bearing the ominous title "The Non-Return". As forecasted by its stark cover artwork (courtesy of Cardaver Art) and cryptic nomenclature, "The Non-Return" sees Krypticy aiming to push the limits their already consolidated sound. Undoubtedly still tried and true Death Metal, there's nevertheless a strive for something more spiritual here, as the quartet seek an evolution towards a more unique personality whilst retaining the classic edge that always defined Krypticy's approach to the genre. Mind you, this isn't doublespeak for going all-out "prog" or leaving behind Death Metal altogether (and still calling it such); rather, the band have begun to more fluently speak different dialects within the same language, producing a multilingual approach that can only but strengthen the sum effect. So, while the traditional tropes of late 80's thrashing and early 90's grinding are well and accounted for, there's a markedly angular aspect to Krypticy's songwriting on "The Non-Return", which works up a fever and fury when riffs and riffs and more riffs attack, one mercilessly after the other, the rhythm section surging and staying linear and ultimately producing a memorability that easily evades verse/chorus structures. So, for those who willingly have their minds warped by such unfussy sleepers as Suffocation's "Pierced from Within", Malevolent Creation's "Stillborn" and Decapitated's "The Negation", prepare to arrive at your destination with "The Non-Return"!